Most people have an image in their minds of what they perceive to be a poor person but rarely think beyond that image to all the other ways being poor affects a person’s life, or how that poverty affects the larger world.

Wealth and poverty are closely associated to population. When population increases, there are more people who must share the resources. When there aren’t enough resources to support the people, poverty follows. The shortage of resources and poverty may then cause discrimination, migration, environmental destruction, and conflict.

High levels of education and income often work together. Educated and wealthier families tend to be smaller, and usually have fewer children so they can focus their resources on those children, generating better health, educational, and economic outcomes.

Poverty can often make families use their children as a way of earning money. The children may raise food, haul water, gather fuel, work in sweatshops, or be sold into slavery or prostitution to help support their families.

The decline of the condition of the environment is a major cause of poverty. Overexploitation and deprivation of the resources can force people into poverty, just as people living in poverty are often forced to destroy and degrade their environment.

Another major connection is between poverty and health. Poverty is the main reason that children are not vaccinated, clean water and sanitation are not available to them, life saving drugs and treatments are difficult to get to for poor people, and mothers die in childbirth.

There are some obvious reasons for the severe gap between rich and poor developing regions, for example the world’s raw resources, from which most wealth comes from, have never been properly shared out. Raw materials and goods made from them are redistributed through trade (or are taken by force).

There are many things that can be done to help the problem of poverty - I am going to focus of what children can do to in and out of school to help. I think that the easier way of doing this is to first raise awareness of the issue which is the first step to making real and lasting changes - this can easily be done by children in their own communities.

For example, primary school children could get together in their class and write a letter to a newspaper editor, in the hope that many people would read it and hopefully respond to it and share their opinions with others. They could also share what they’ve learnt about poverty by getting creative. Art can have a positive effect on its audience which makes it a powerful tool for raising awareness about important issues.

Raising money can also help solve an issue such as this immensely. Money is usually given to programs in developing countries that need funding for helping children get an education. With the help of parents or teachers, children can easily help donate money by holding an activity to raise money such as a walk-a-thon. Or even selling sweets and cakes that they have made themselves with their families or at school.